News you can use from the Danforth East Community Association deca.to

#DEdreams in Pictures

A huge, big thank you to everyone for coming out and making last week’s Danforth East Dreams event such a fun and successful day!

Over 400 (!) of you joined us to share what you love about the ‘hood and your dreams about how we can make it even better. There were tons of great ideas, including:

starting a community garden (Attention those of you who loved this idea: good news is coming soon!)

a neighbourhood wide golf tournament in which everyone sets up a hole on their lawn

bringing back monarch butterflies to Monarch Park

bike lanes on Danforth

converting the TTC buildings at Coxwell (South side of Danforth) into a public space with a park, stores and housing

rabbits (the young lady didn’t elaborate on her vision, but rabbits are indeed pretty cool all on their own)

We even spied an idea that looked an awful lot like a marriage proposal (possibly a DECA first?). We’ll continue collecting all the ideas and share the full results in the next few weeks. Until then, have a look at the fantastic pictures taken by Bruce, Tina and Casey. See if you spot your idea or recognize someone you know posing with their dream.

– For now, the TTC’s station collectors report for work at that site (about 325 of them) and they use the main space out back for parking.
– The other purpose is warehousing, which employs six: Air filters and subway train trucks (the wheel assemblies).
– The TTC says it may need the site for these purposes for another five to 10 years, though people on DECA visioning committee have been talking with the TTC, the councillors, academics and city planners about how to decrease the ugliness short-term, speed the timeline considerably and to shape the eventual redevelopment.
– According to the late urbanist Jane Jacobs, our neighbourhood economy and vibrancy suffered badly with the large-scale loss of employment after World War II, and when the TTC vacates that site, another 330 jobs that support local shops and restaurants could be lost. There are many things that can be done with the site that can benefit the community in many ways. Studies are under way.